Wire-fence machine.



F. H. NULLMEYER & C. A. PORATH.

WIRE FENCE MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILED NOV. 3, 1911.

1 035 809. Patented Aug. 13,1912.

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F. H. NULLMEYER & O. A. PORATH.

WIRE FENCE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 3, 1911.

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F. H. NULLMEYER & C. A. PORATH.

WIRE FENCE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 3, 1911.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

COLUMBIA PLANOGBAFII cm. WASHINGTO n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK H. NULLMEYER AND CARL A. PORATH, 0F STRUTHERS, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO YOUNGSTOWN SHEET & TUBE COMPANY, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

WIRE-FENCE MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK H. NULL- MEYER and CARL A. PonA'ri-r, both citizens of the United, States, residing at Struthers, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVire Fence Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates, first, to an attachment for placing a crimp in the strand wire of a square mesh wire fence; and, secondly, to a mechanism for effecting an equal spacing apart of the stay wires and alining said stay wires in right angled relation to the strand wires.

The main object of the present invention is to arrange the crimping mechanism so that the crimp will be made in the strand wire at the point of juncture of the stay and strand wires; that is, at the point where the stay wires are coiled around the strand Wires. By crimping the strand wire at this point, a locking of the stay wires to the strand wires is effected by the crimping operation.

A further object of the invention consists in a regular arrangement of the stay wires, so that the complete fencing assumes a regular and symmetrical appearance.

The invention further relates to the features of construction and to the combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view showing the mechanism of the present invention mounted in operative position upon a machine for making woven wire fencing; Fig. 2, a detail showing the crimping dies mounted in operative position upon a crimping drum, and showing the relation between the stay wire spacing and alining mechanism and the crimping mechanism; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the crimping drum and stay wire spacing mechanism, showing the latter in non-operative position; Fig. 4, a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the spacing mechanism in the position assumed when it is performing the spacing operation; Fig. 5,

an enlarged detail of the parts shown in Fig. 2, showing the crimping dies in nonoperative position; Fig. 6, a wow similar to Fig. 5 showing the dies in actin or crimping position; Fig. 7, a detail loo ring at the end of the male and female die members; and Fig. 8, a view of the completed crimp.

In the art to which the present invention relates, it is customary to place at intervals crimps in the strand wires, to permit of the expansion and contraction of the wire which will take place under the effects of changes in the temperature. Fencing of the square mesh type, when subjected to use, will frequently have the spaces between the stay wires distorted and made unequal by a sliding of the stay wires along the strand wires. Hence, in the present invention, the crimping operation accomplishes two important results: First, arranges the strand wires so that they may accommodate themselves to the changes in temperature; and, secondly, securely locks the strand and stay wires together so as to prevent distortion or shifting of the stay wires during usage.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the mechanism is applied to a machine for making square mesh fencing, which is of the type known as the Mirfield machine, and is fully described in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 969,552, issued to George E. Mirfield on September 6, 1910.

The type of machine shown in the drawings, however, is simply utilized for illustrative purposes, and it is understood that the devices of the present invention may be utilized with any form of machine to which they are applicable, and that the particular form of machine shown must in no wise be considered as a limitation upon the present invention.

The crimping mechanism consists of a drum 9, which is arranged to be actuated in accordance with the movements of the completed fence fabric through the machine. The drum has positioned, upon its exterior, a series of female die members 10, best illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 These die members consist of a plate 11, provided with a groove 12 extending longitudinally thereof, and a groove 13 extending transversely thereof. It is to be noted that the groove 13 is considerably wider than the groove 12. This arrangement is provided because of the fact that the grooves 12 are only intended to receive the strand wires, while the grooves 18 receive the stay wires and the coil of the stay wire; and, hence, said grooves must be of a size to receive the coil and permit of the necessary movement of the coil therein.

At the juncture of the grooves 12 and 13 is formed a shoulder 14, about which the strand wire is bent in the crimping operation, this shoulder being the acting portion of the female die. The male die member is in the form of a bar 15, which, as shown in Fig. 7, travels beneath the female die member 10, and is provided with a series of finger-like members 16. These finger-like members are arranged to travel in the groove 13, and, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, are arranged to lie to one side of the stay wires lying within said groove, but in alinementwith the coil of the stay wire within said groove. These male die members 15 are forced backward and forward across the face of the drum by suitable camcontacts 17, or otherwise. Upon the forcing of the bar 15 into the position shown in Fig. 6, the fingers 16 will engage with and force the coils of the stay wires lengthwise of the slot 13, and this will result, as shown in Figs. 6 and 8, in a bending of the strand wire around the shoulders 1 1, thus placing a kink or bend in the strand wire, which will lie upon each side of the stay wire coil. Obviously, with the strand wires configured in this manner, the coils will be held from any sliding movement longitudinally of said strand wires, and hence a locking of the stay wires upon the strand wires is effected. In crimping the strand wires in this manner, it is, of course, of the utmost importance to have the stay wires spaced an equidistance apart, otherwise the coils of the stay wires would not enter into the grooves 13 in the manner desired. In order to efiect such an equal spacing of the stay wires, we provide a mechanism which consists of a rotatable shaft 18 driven in any suit-able manner, to which is secured a plate 19, slotted at intervals to provide a series of finger-like members 20. The slots are so arranged that they are alined with the strand wires, and the shaft 18 is positioned so that when it is rotated, it swings the plate 19 in a path of travel which crosses the plane in which the completed fencing is lying. This will be readily understood by referring to Figs. 3 and 4:. In the crossing of said plane, the plate 19 traverses or passes along the strand wires for a predetermined distance of their length, and the fingers 20 are so arranged that, during their movement along the stay wires, they will engage and move the stay wires to a point upon the strand wires, which marks the limit of movement of the fingers along the strand wires, so that each time the fingers engage and move a stay wire, said stay wire will be placed at a certain position upon the strand wire. The plate is arranged so that it passes across the plane in which the fencing lies, at regular intervals, and will travel each time the same distance along the strand wires.

By the above arrangement, it is obvious that if a misalinement of the stays should occur, as indicated in Fig. 3, then the plate 19, by its operation, will force said misalined stays backwardly, so that they will lie the proper distance from the preceding set of stays. This same operation will take place with the next succeeding set of stays, so that they will be properly placed, and will continue throughout the length of fencing. Not only does this operation properly space the stay wires apart, so as to always insure entrance of the coils into the grooves 13, but it further arranges the stays in right angled arrangement to the strand wires, and this materially improves the appearance of the completed fencing.

lVe do not wish to limit ourselves to the location of the mechanism as shown, and it is understood that they may be arranged in any suitable position to conform with the ideas of the mechanic constructing the machine.

we claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of crimping mechanism, comprising a male crimping member and a female crimping member, said female crimping member having grooves therein extending at right angles to one another, one of said grooves being adapted to receive the strand wires, and the other of said grooves being of a width to receive the coil of the stay wires, a shoulder on the female die member at the juncture of the grooves, the male die member moving in the stay wire groove to engage the coil and force the entire coil lengthwise in said groove and in one direction, whereby the strand wire is bent around said shoulder and a crimp produced therein, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of crimping mechanism, com prising a male crimping member and a female crimping member, said female crimping member having grooves therein extending at right angles to one another, one of said grooves being adapted to receive the strand wires, and the other of said grooves being of a width to receive the coil of the stay wires, a shoulder on the female die member at the juncture of the grooves, the male die member moving in the stay wire groove to engage the coil and force it lengthwise in said groove, whereby the strand wire is bent around said shoulder and a crimp produced therein, and means acting prior to the crimping operation for spacing the stay wires an equidistance apart and arranging them in right-angled relation to the strand wires, substantially as de scribed.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of crimping mechanism, comprising a male crimping member and a female crimping member, said female crimping member having grooves therein extending at right angles to one another and producing a shoulder at the junction thereof, one of said grooves being adapted to receive the strand wires, and the other groove being of a width to receive the coil of the stay wires, the male crimping member consisting of a bar provided with fingers adapted to operate in the stay wire groove, the actuation of said bar causing said fingers to engage with the coils and force them lengthwise of the stay wire groove, whereby the strand wire is bent about said shoulder and the crimp produced therein, substantially as described.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of crimping mechanism, comprising a male crimping member and a female crimping member, said female crimping member having grooves therein extending at right angles to one another and producing a shoulder at the junction thereof, one of said grooves being adapted to receive the strand wires, and the other groove being of a width to receive the coil of the stay wires, the male crimping member consisting of a bar provided with fingers adapted to operate in the stay wire groove, the actuation of said bar causing said fingers to engage with the coils and force them lengthwise of the stay wire groove, whereby the strand wire is bent about said shoulder and the crimp produced therein, and means acting prior to the crimping operation for spacing the stay wires an equidistance apart and arranging them in right-angled relation to the strand wires, substantially as described.

5. In a wire fence machine, mechanism for crimping the strand wires, comprising a drum, female crimping members arranged circumferentially on the drum, each female crimping member having a groove therein to receive the strand wires and a groove to receive the stay wires, said grooves extending at right angles to one another and producing a shoulder at the junction thereof, said stay wire grooves being of a size to receive the coil of the stay wires, a male die member operating in said stay wire groove to force the entire coil lengthwise of said groove and in one direction, whereby the strand wire is bent around the shoulders at the intersection of the grooves and a crimp produced therein, substantially as described.

6. In a wire fence machine, mechanism for crimping the strand wires, comprising a drum, female crimping members arranged circumferentially on the drum, each female crimping member having a groove therein to receive the strand wires and a groove to receive the stay wires, said grooves extending at right angles to one another and producing a shoulder at the junction thereof, said stay wire grooves being of a size to receive the coil of the stay wires, a male die member operating in said stay wire groove to force said coil lengthwise of said groove, whereby the strand wire is bent around the shoulders at the intersection of the grooves and a crimp produced therein, and means acting prior to the crimping operation for spacing the stay wires an equidistance apart and arranging them in right angled relation to the strand wires, substantially as described.

7. In a wire fence machine, means for effecting an equal spacing of the stay Wires and arranging them in right angled relation to the strand wires, consisting of a revolving slotted plate, the slots in said plate being arranged to aline with the strand wires, said plate revolving in a path which intersects the plane in which the fencing lies, the portions of the plate between the slots engaging the stay wires to force said wires into desired position upon the strand wires, substantially as described.

8. Crimping mechanism for wire fence machines, comprising a fixed die member arranged in the direction of the strand wire, said member having die faces spaced apart a distance equal to the width of the coil of the stay wires, and means for forcing said coils bodily in one direction lengthwise of the space between the die faces, whereby the strand wires are bent about the faces of the die members and a crimp produced therein, substantially as described.

9. Crimping mechanism for wire fence machines, comprising a fixed die member ar ranged in the direction of the strand wires, said members having die faces spaced a art a distance equal to the width of the coil of the stay wires, a sliding bar operating in said spaces, and fingers on said bar adapted to engage the coils and force them bodily in one direction lengthwise of the spaces, whereby the strand wire is bent about the die face and a crimp produced therein, substantially as described.

10. Crimping mechanism for wire fence machines, comprising a drum, a series of die bent about the faces of the die members and 10 a crimp-produced therein, substantially as described.

members on said drum fixed with respect thereto, said die members extending circumferentially of said drum and in the direction of the strand wires, die faces on said die members spaced apart a distance equal to the Width of a coil of the stay Wire, and means for forcing said coils bodily in one direction lengthwise of the space between the die faces, whereby the strand wires are FRANK H. NULLMEYER. CARL A. PORATH. I

Witnesses W. R. HENDERSON, HORACE L. WILSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

